This SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) is a marker which notates the group commonly known as STR47-Scots or the 'Scots Cluster'. The marker is found particularly in western Scotland, but also as far north as the Orkney Islands and Sutherland. There is also a cluster emerging in Wales. The results page can be found here http://www.familytreedna.com/public/R1b-L1335/default.aspx?section=yresults

You can see where L1335 fits in the bigger picture of Haplogroup R1b via this diagram produced by the chaps in the R1b-P312 Haplogroup and Subclades Y DNA group at Yahoo.R1b-L21_Descendency_Tree.jpg

Saturday, 18 May 2013

A new project has been launched covering the counties of Caithness and Sutherland hosted by Family Tree DNA.

The project is open to both males and females who have a direct lineage
back to the above areas on their paternal or maternal side. The project also takes results for individuals who have taken the Family
Finder test and who have ancestors from Caithness or Sutherland.

The name Caithness is derived primarily from a tribal rather than a
place name and appears to have been given to the indigenous people in
question, 'the Cats' by their Celtic-speaking neighbours.
(Ref: Professor Bill Nicoliasen in, Baldwin, John. R. ed. (1982) Caithness - A Cultural Crossroads. Edinburgh: Scottish Society for Northern Studies).

Caithness was originally named Katanes
by the Norsemen, meaning 'headland of the cats'. The lands south of
the Ord of Caithness were later designated Sudrland by the Norse (the
southern part of Katanes) whilst the area west of lowland Caithness was referred to in the Norse sagas as the 'Dales' of Caithness (Dalir).

It has been argued that the 'province' of Strathnaver likely equates to
these 'dales' and should be seen as part of the earldom lands of
Caithness. (See: Baldwin, John. R. ed. (2000) The Province of Strathnaver. Edinburgh: Scottish Society for Northern Studies).

The project will cover that part of north-eastern Scotland inhabited by 'the Cats', namely present day Caithness (Katanes), Sutherland (Sudrland) and the 'Dales' (Dalir) which equates with the Diocese of Caithness in the Middle Ages.

Monday, 25 March 2013

Recent media coverage by a British DNA testing company claims that it has found a marker indicative of Pictish origin. The marker S530 claimed as a new discovery is commonly known as L1335 by Family Tree DNA and was added to the ISOGG R1b Haplotree on 8 January 2013.

Members of this particular group were identified a number of years ago by their STR (Short Tandem Repeat) haplotype. As the haplotype was predominantly carried by individuals with Scottish origin the group has been known as STR47-Scots or the 'Scots Cluster'.

L1335 is one of the known subclades of DF13 which itself is a major branch of L21 a large branch of R1b-P312 (S116) part of the R1b haplogroup. The diagram below helps illustrate the current phylogeny of R-M269 as of 21 March 2013. Thanks to Mike Walsh and the team at the R1b-P312-Project at Yahoo for the diagram below.

Friday, 15 March 2013

There has been some rather negative press coverage about DNA testing in recent weeks resulting from outrageous claims by one British testing company in particular. Headlines that individuals are related to the Queen of Sheba, castrated Irish slaves, Napoleon or are descendants of Romans have been made without any data being published in peer reviewed journals.

Sense About Science a charitable trust that equips people to make sense of scientific and medical claims responded to these claims by publishing a guide to testing Sense About Genetic Ancestry Testing

Unfortunately this publication was selectively quoted by the media tarring genealogical DNA testing with the same brush.

In order to bring some balance back into the conversation Debbie Kennett, well known to many within the genetic genealogy community has been given the opportunity to complement the Sense About Science article. In a blog post on their website she provides further details about DNA testing for genealogical purposes and why it can be used effectively and legitimately as an additional tool in family history research.

It looks as though this test will be a replacement for the Y-DNA 'deep clade' currently used for deep ancestry. This is an exciting development for those of us interested in deeper ancestry and time frame when surnames were becoming adopted and hereditary.

Indications are that you will be able to purchase and link the product to your FTDNA account, so hold fire on ordering direct if you have a Family Tree DNA account until this is clarified.

Debbie also weighs up how the test might impact on other companies such as Ancestry and 23andMe.

Dr. King's PhD thesis topic was The relationship between British surnames and Y-chromosomal haplotypes and she is also co-author (with George Redmonds and David Hey) of the book Surnames, DNA and Family Historyhttp://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199582648.do

Note for individuals who have tested with www.genetree.com (which is no longer taking orders) - "There are not plans to automatically 'convert' GeneTree accounts into Ancestry.com accounts, so GeneTree customers will need to move their information over to Ancestry on an individual basis."

Search the Scottish DNA blog

Join the Scottish DNA Project

Ordering test kits from the UK

Test kits can now be ordered in £Sterling (includes the small project discount) and mailed direct from the United Kingdom. Pay by £cheque, PayPal or credit card. Email alasdair@familytreedna.com for more information.